ls 430 vs acura?
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: NY/NJ
Followers
Because Honda was first to market with a "Japanese Luxury" make, Acura... but they've been following since. Lexus, Infiniti all copied the German alpha/numeric numbering convention and it worked, so Acura follows.
Personally, I like names. Letter and numbers over time just mismash the whole lineup. LS, IS, ES, G, M, Q, RS, GL, GX, FX... who knows who has what. M45, is that the same as a M5?
Legend, you knew what it was. Accord, Civic, Prelude, you know exactly which vehicle that is and who it belongs to. This is what I don't like about Lexus too... just a drone following conventional luxury "wisdom."
Personally, I like names. Letter and numbers over time just mismash the whole lineup. LS, IS, ES, G, M, Q, RS, GL, GX, FX... who knows who has what. M45, is that the same as a M5?
Legend, you knew what it was. Accord, Civic, Prelude, you know exactly which vehicle that is and who it belongs to. This is what I don't like about Lexus too... just a drone following conventional luxury "wisdom."
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: NY/NJ
Carpooled
... I still have my 02 RL, and yes, it doesn't compare to the CURRENT LS, but to criticize it for "super bland and interior of crub"? That isn't fair. And to think--all of the car mags and critics DID compare the 02 RL to the 02 LS!!! It's either an insult to those Lexus owners, because the Acura is so "cheap", or a total compliment to Acura to be compared to a Lexus which cost $15k MORE. http://www.automotive.com/2002/09/acura/rl/index.html
We could debate whether or not the styling is attractive or not..(don't forget that bodystyle was redesigned 1999, but talk about bang for the buck, and talk about reliability, and talk about having all the bells and whistles as STANDARD options for the $ and it was/is a GREAT car. We're all a little spoiled being owners of LS's, but let's not bash the RL because of it's styling. I could post links to dozens of rave reviews from all the auto magazines, etc.
If we want to compare the current RL to a Lexus, you can find a comparison done in 2005 here. And hold on to your britches, but the RL finished AHEAD of the GS430. LOLOL!!!! They reviewers said the ONLY thing preventing the RL from taking 1st place was it's smaller size, lack of v8, and lack of rwd. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests
btw...did i tell you i can operate the nav on my RL while it's in motion?
We could debate whether or not the styling is attractive or not..(don't forget that bodystyle was redesigned 1999, but talk about bang for the buck, and talk about reliability, and talk about having all the bells and whistles as STANDARD options for the $ and it was/is a GREAT car. We're all a little spoiled being owners of LS's, but let's not bash the RL because of it's styling. I could post links to dozens of rave reviews from all the auto magazines, etc.
If we want to compare the current RL to a Lexus, you can find a comparison done in 2005 here. And hold on to your britches, but the RL finished AHEAD of the GS430. LOLOL!!!! They reviewers said the ONLY thing preventing the RL from taking 1st place was it's smaller size, lack of v8, and lack of rwd. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests
btw...did i tell you i can operate the nav on my RL while it's in motion?
It's not a bad car, just not a very good or interesting car. Boring is first word that comes to mind.The auto magazines always do crazy non apple-to-apple comparisons, like RL to LS because the RL is Acura's "Flagship" vehicle and what is Lexus' flagship? As for the RL beating the GS, that is more apple-to-apple and seeing the RL actually was quite satisfying for me.
Look, I'm not an Acura hater by any means. Before my RX and LS, I had Hondas and Acuras and LOVED them (except for my turdy '98 Accord V6). I still have my Intergra GSR and am going to drive that baby to the ground.
I can operate my NAV in my '04 while in motion too... just have to do the override.
^^^ 
If you think a Lexus has no soul (about the only complaint that the German car lovers can level against Lexus) try driving the big Acura's. Then you will understand what that those words mean.
If I were going Japanese in a big sedan but for some reason not Lexus, it'd have to be Infinity. (But I wouldn't do that -- it WOULD be Lexus, period.)
^^^ If you think a Lexus has no soul (about the only complaint that the German car lovers can level against Lexus) try driving the big Acura's. Then you will understand what that those words mean.
If I were going Japanese in a big sedan but for some reason not Lexus, it'd have to be Infinity. (But I wouldn't do that -- it WOULD be Lexus, period.)I second that motion...
^^^ If you think a Lexus has no soul (about the only complaint that the German car lovers can level against Lexus) try driving the big Acura's. Then you will understand what that those words mean.
If I were going Japanese in a big sedan but for some reason not Lexus, it'd have to be Infinity. (But I wouldn't do that -- it WOULD be Lexus, period.)I don't know what I would drive if Lexus don't exist anymore, I would be so sad. But then Toyota/Lexus would never go away unless the world is ending, so we are safe
Last edited by BNR34; Jul 22, 2009 at 07:49 AM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: NY/NJ
Caddy
There is also the Chrysler 300M. 
Yeah, if Lexus goes under, I'm going back to bicycling to work.
Yeah but Infiniti is so rough, I can't stand it. Everytime I drive my sister-in-law G35 coupe, it is fun in the first 30 minutes when I am flooring it, as soon as I start driving slow, I don't want to drive it anymore, there is no refinement. They are only good at wide open throttle.
One big Nissan/Infinity problem is THEY SEEM TO AGE IN DOG YEARS! I think a 2 year old Infinity ages more in line with a 14 year old Lexus than a 2-year old.
Last edited by I6turbo; Jul 22, 2009 at 03:13 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 65
From: CO
Also, BOSE in the RL is not very good...centerpoint is crap. Although i am not a fan of the ML in the LS430, it is still a lot better than RL BOSE with regular CDs. I did not bother with DVD-A because you can't find it anywhere...outdated source.
Agreed again. I think Nissan's vehicle ages really fast and Lexus ages exceptionally well, making the difference huge. Our 1998 ES300 with 90k miles feels quite a bit younger then my sister-in-law's 05' G35 coupe with 45k miles. My brother-in-law's 01' Infiniti I30 with 110k miles feels like an old clunker and is falling apart.
Now that would be a much better discussion/comparison.
The RL is suppose to be a little higher level then the ES, but the ES had been pushed upmarket so much in recent years, a fully loaded ultra luxury ES350 is almost equal in content to a brand new RL. Similar power, and the 4WD in the RL is FWD base, that car got a FWD feel to it. The only feature the ES doesn't have is the rear side shades. Similar price too, a fully loaded ES is only like $3k~$4k less then a fully loaded RL. Lexus just kept pushing higher and higher while Acura kept standing still. It took Acura forever to realized the TSX REALLY needed a V6. Honda just don't like to push, or change, they are very conservative.
Personally, I rather have a ES350 ultra luxury package over a new RL. Lexus just got that ultra quietness and silkiness that no Acura has.
The RL is suppose to be a little higher level then the ES, but the ES had been pushed upmarket so much in recent years, a fully loaded ultra luxury ES350 is almost equal in content to a brand new RL. Similar power, and the 4WD in the RL is FWD base, that car got a FWD feel to it. The only feature the ES doesn't have is the rear side shades. Similar price too, a fully loaded ES is only like $3k~$4k less then a fully loaded RL. Lexus just kept pushing higher and higher while Acura kept standing still. It took Acura forever to realized the TSX REALLY needed a V6. Honda just don't like to push, or change, they are very conservative.
Personally, I rather have a ES350 ultra luxury package over a new RL. Lexus just got that ultra quietness and silkiness that no Acura has.
Last edited by BNR34; Jul 22, 2009 at 04:51 PM.
I never knew of a UL in the ES till this generation.
It doesn't have the massage seat and air suspension right???
I don't know about the ES though. To me, interior went downhill from the last gen
It doesn't have the massage seat and air suspension right???
I don't know about the ES though. To me, interior went downhill from the last gen
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: NY/NJ
ISF vs. GTR
Agreed 100%. Nissan are good at making fun sports cars, performance wise the GTR smoke the IS-F by far in everyway for almost the same price. And it is ok for a sports car to have a short life and to be un-refined, since fun is all it is about, and it is a weekend toy that don't see lots of mileage. But as a luxury daily cruiser, refinement and longivity is everything, performance is secondary.
Also, factoring in that you can get an ISF for about $2K off MSRP, but a GTR is being jacked in the neighborhood of close to $10K, the real world difference in price is even greater.
Also, 3.7 to 4.7s is A LOT of extra mechanics in the GTR than the ISF. It's much easier to reduce one second at the high spectrum, 10.2 seconds to 9.2, than in the 4 second range because you just can't go against physics and continue to decrease the time without increasing power exponentially.
I'm pretty sure in the old days, the JDM Supra and Skyline were not really direct competitors, staright off the showroom, not including sup'd up versions.